Updated Palatine village hall will include fire station

Palatine village hall is next to the Palatine Park District headquarters. (Sally Ho, Chicago Tribune)

Palatine's village hall is getting a $10.6 million face lift and once the building is completed, it will also house a fire station.

The village board this month approved a $1.1 million contract with Wold Architects and Engineers, whose Illinois office is in Palatine.

The company will provide architectural, structural, and engineering services, as well as security, landscaping and interior design services to rehab the existing Palatine village hall at 200 E. Wood St.

Palatine officials say the current facility was built in 1952 and originally was used as Palatine High School. It was expanded in 1966 and village hall was moved into the building in the 1970s, officials said. The second floor was partially remodeled in the 1990s, although much of the building still looks like it did in the 1970s--and some areas still reflect its past use as a school.

A 2006 space study showed the building was aging to the point that some infrastructure systems had "reached or surpassed their useful life expectancy," according to a village memo.

Similar conditions were also found for Fire Station 85 at 39 E. Colfax St. The building is the village's oldest fire station and is also home to the department's headquarters and administrative offices.

The latest proposal would relocate that fire station to village hall, combining two potential construction projects.

This comes after the police department moved out of the village hall's basement – a space that was formerly the school cafeteria. Only the two upper levels of the facility are now in use.

Palatine officials said this was the cheapest option. A brand new village hall at the same location would cost $14.4 million and a new location in downtown Palatine would cost as much as $20.4 million, according to Village Manager Reid Ottesen.

A downtown location would also require a parking garage, something that is estimated to cost $5 million.

Officials say the bones of the existing structure are still solid, which will save up to 30 percent in construction costs. The rehabbing project will be like "starting from new" and once completed, the village hall should last at least 40 to 50 years with on-going maintenance, officials said.

The building now sits adjacent to the Palatine Park District, 250 E. Wood St., and the two agencies can partner up on exterior work, Ottesen said.

"I think it's most economical for the community," he said.

Construction is expected to take 14 months and will be completed by the summer of 2015. The design phase will last eight months, but a presentation on the developments will be presented later this summer.